Wake Forest Demon Deacons’ spring football game produces a quarterback surprise

Wake Forest opened spring football drills with a two-man battle for the starting quarterback position.

Coach Dave Clawson’s squad might have a three-way competition for the spot when the Demon Deacons begin fall practice in a bit more than three months.

That was a takeaway from Saturday’s annual spring football game on a sunny, warm day at Allegacy Stadium.

The Deacons suffered from inconsistent quarterback play last fall, en route to a 4-8 record that was their worst since 2015.

Michael Kern, who played well in spots, returned for this season. Hank Bachmeier, a former Boise State standout, transferred to Wake Forest. And the Deacons landed a couple of promising high school quarterbacks.

Kern was hurt and didn’t play Saturday, but Bachmeier looked good in spots. And the Demon Deacons got a strong effort from one of those freshmen.

For the record, the Black beat the White 21-13. The Black featured the second-team offense and first-team defense. The White had the first-team offense and second-team defense.

Saturday’s game produced the usual mix of performances.

“I’m glad we have 4 1/2 months before we play a game,” said Clawson, who coached the Demon Deacons to seven straight bowl games before last fall. “We have 4 1/2 months to fix a few things. I’m glad we don’t have a game this week.”

“But there were certainly some good moments,” he added.

The quarterback battle

Bachmeier, who passed for 3,079 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2021 at Boise State but slipped last fall after transferring to Louisiana Tech, had some bright moments.

He completed 24 of 39 passes for 313 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.

At times, he was brilliant. He threw a 37-yard scoring pass to Horatio Fields on the White’s first series and completed a 43-yard toss to Walker Merrill later in the first quarter. But in the possession between those two big plays, he overthrew receivers on two different plays.

The Black team used three freshmen quarterbacks — East Lincoln’s Tyler Mizzell and former Georgia high school standouts Charlie Gilliam and Jeremy Hecklinski.

Hecklinski had a big day, completing 12 of 20 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. He was not picked off. Mizzell and Gilliam had their moments, but Hecklinski stood out.

Afterwards, Clawson said the quarterback battle remains open.

“We won’t name a starter until we have to,” he said. But he indicated that the Kerns-Bachmeier competition might be expanded after Saturday. “Last year in the Pitt game, we ended up playing our No. 3 quarterback. So anyone is in contention.”

By the way, Clawson said Mizzell “was very sharp in spring practice.”

About that secondary

Two of last year’s starting defensive backs, Caelen Carson and Malik Mustapha, are expected to be picked in next weekend’s NFL Draft. Three other regulars from last fall have transferred out.

Defensive coordinator Brad Lambert, the former Charlotte 49ers’ head coach, has several promising defensive backs in Capone Blue, Jamare Glasker, DaVaughn Patterson, Antonio Robinson, and Rushaun Tongue.

While Bachmeier and Hecklinski each had success in the air, the Deacons’ defense played well at times. Blue, for example, had several pass breakups. And defensive lineman Mateen Ibirogba, a transfer from Georgetown, had two sacks and several quarterback pressures for the White defense.

Who will kick?

Kicking was a trouble spot at times last season, and Saturday’s spring game probably didn’t provide any answers.

Matthew Dennis, a junior from Myers Park High School, was wide-left on a 49-yard attempt in the first quarter. But he boomed a 38-yard in the fourth quarter. That kick cleared the crossbar with 15 to 20 yards to spare.

The other kicker was sophomore Caleb Carlson, who nailed a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter.

It appears as if that battle won’t be settled until fall practice.

Can the Deacons get healthy?

It’s typical for teams to be missing some players from spring practice due to injury, and Wake Forest was no different.

Two of those who missed spring drills are potential keys to the offense, though — Kern and wide receiver Donavon Greene. Kern is recovering from a finger injury, and Greene reportedly is fully recovered from Achilles surgery but sat out spring drills to play it safe.

“We’ve got to get healthy,” Clawson said after Saturday’s game. “We had a lot of guys out today.”

Saturday’s scoring

Black 7 14 0 0 — 21

White 7 0 3 3 — 13

W — Horatio Fields 37 pass from Hank Bachmeier (Caleb Carlson kick)

B — Jaydin Gerard 65 pass from Jeremy Hecklinski (Matthew Dennis kick)

B — B.J. Williams 8 pass from Hecklinski (Dennis kick)

B — Ian VerSteeg 27 pass from Hecklinski (Dennis kick)

W — FG Carlson 37

W — FG Dennis 38